Howard Keith White

1927 - 2020

CAMDEN — Howard Keith White was born February 8, 1927, to Harmon Taylor White and Nellie Gladys Beasley White. He was their third child. He had three brothers, Lowell, Kenneth, and Dale, and a sister, Violet Lavon, better known as "Betty." Howard survived all of them.

Howard saw his first angel at the age of five, shortly after the death of his mother. The angel had a feminine appearance in a blue gown, and she told Howard he would live with his grandmother and everything would be all right. This was not the only angel seen at the time of Nellie Gladys' death. One was seen by members of the Beasley family, and this story was told to me by one of his cousins. The grandmother who raised him was Eliza Taylor White, and she was the strongest influence on his young life. Her own family had been displaced during the time of the War Between the States and the Reconstruction period. A story of a courthouse fire gave credence to the story there were no records of her actual birth year, and she became as young as she needed to be to add Lowell, Kenneth, Howard and Betty to her household. Protecting family and keeping them together whenever possible was a major theme to his life. Being strong and financially independent were other themes.

Howard graduated from New Madison High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, and was stationed in Germany as constabulary police. He was near the scene of the death of General Patton. He attended the Nuremberg trials at a time when Hermann Goering committed suicide by swallowing cyanide. Howard returned to Greenville, Ohio, after his service. He met Dolores Powell at the Hudson dealership. She has been the love of his life, and they married in September, 1951.

Their family is Dee Renee (Don) Chesnut, Eric Howard White, Patrick Kelly (Leah) White, and Dane Powell (Dorcas) White.

Howard had many jobs over his life. I remember most vividly when he worked as a tool and die machinist at Natco in Richmond, when he was the manager of New Madison Eavey, then SuperValu grocery, and when he owned Camden IGA with Dolores. Since coming to Camden in 1966, Howard and Dolores gave many people their first jobs and tried to give them life lessons about taking pride in their work, saving 10% for their future, and making compound interest work for you instead of against you. They started Camden Improvement organization which helped bring Dr. Thomson to Camden; owned some other businesses in Camden such as White's Store and Lock; and provided rental housing.

Howard and Dolores have six grandchildren: Brian (Emily) Chesnut, Lesley (Brandon) Hummel, Taylor (Sarah) White, Devyn White, Liberty White, and Dalton White. They have six great-grandchildren: Evan, Katie, Nora, and Kyle Chesnut; Liam and Colin Hummel. They extended their love beyond the direct bloodlines to many others. Howard and Dolores sold Camden IGA before standard retirement age.

They expanded their love and influence to their neighborhood in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida. They became permanent Florida residents and lived there more than half of each year. Howard and Dolores celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in September, 2015. Dolores died in 2016. Do not doubt that if Howard told you that you were his good buddy, then you were.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 17, 2020, 10:00 a.m., on at the Girton Schmidt & Boucher Gard Funeral Home, 226 West Main Street, Eaton, OH with Rev. Arnold Brewer officiating. Burial will be in Fairmount Cemetery, Camden, OH. Visitation will be held Friday, October 16, 2020, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the funeral home. Online condolences and other remembrances may be sent to the family by visiting www.gsbfuneralhome.com.